I'll put it this way -- if you can buy the product at Best Buy, Circuit City, Digital Universe, or any other mass market, mass consumption, lowest price of them all outlet, it is not good audiophile quality. It is designed for people who don't care, and don't want to spend some dough for good stuff. Which means, Sony, Panasonic, RCA, and the like is not even in the same hemisphere with Boston Accoustic, Adcom, Pinnacle, B&W, NAD, Rothel, and the most beloved of all, McIntosh (no, not the Apple computer). True, these products cost more, but they last longer and perform better. Most of all, because they are built with fine quality components and engineered for audiophiles, they sound fantastic. Heck, B&W only mass produces their lower end of speakers ($1,000 - $8,000 per pair). Their high end is special custom order only ($9,000 - $50,000 per pair). Hand crafted cabinets, kevlar cones, isolated crossovers. Hey, you get what you pay for.